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03/23/2023 | Campus News

Survey on public transport use according to Corona

Local public transport (LPT) is indispensable for the transport revolution and for achieving the climate targets. But with the Corona pandemic, buses and trains have lost passengers. The effects on public transport are still being felt even three years after the outbreak of the pandemic. Now, a research team from the University of Kassel is determining how and why Corona has changed the use of public transport.

Streetcars in the Königsstraße in Kassel.Image: coffee stone.
Streetcars in kassel's Königsstraße.

How has the use of different modes of transport changed as a result of the pandemic? Do passengers feel more comfortable on public transport again? What impact does the pandemic still have on public transport? To answer these questions, the project team led by Prof. Dr. Carsten Sommer, head of the Department of Transportation Planning and Systems at the University of Kassel, is now in its third year of research on the topic of "pandemic-resistant public transport" as part of the EMILIA project. The research project aims to make public transport pandemic-proof and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV) with around 1.3 million euros.

The opinions of the Kassel population are of great importance for the research. Already in 2021 and 2022, around 3,000 randomly selected citizens were asked by letter to participate in a survey on mobility in Kassel. The last, final wave of the survey will now start on March 27. The team is interested in the opinions of everyone, especially those who do not use public transportation at all or only rarely.

In addition to the survey, the project team is also working on other content related to the topic of public transportation: For example, a simulation of the spread of aerosols in the air breathed on buses and trains is currently being evaluated to determine the risk of infection. Based on these findings, the project team would like to derive measures on how vehicles should be designed to minimize the risk of infection. The team also wants to determine what the pandemic means for the financing of public transport, how fares should be designed and how customers should be approached, and provide corresponding recommendations for action.

 

Further information on the EMILIA research project and the latest news is available on the project homepage: uni-kassel.de/go/emilia

 

Contact:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Carsten Sommer

University of Kassel

Department of Transportation Planning and Systems

Tel.: 0561 804-3381

C.Sommer[at]uni-kassel[dot]de

 

Natalie Schneider

University of Kassel

Department of Transportation Planning and Systems

Tel.: 0561 804-3279

N.Schneider[at]uni-kassel[dot]de